Winter Holidays

More than half (54%) of shoppers believe the best holiday discounts will be in December and 83% will continue to comparison shop for gifts throughout the month, according to PriceGrabber’s December Winter Holiday Shopping Survey.

The survey of 3,299 U.S. online shopping consumers shows 87% of consumers will conduct most of their holiday shopping in December this year (compared to 78% in 2012).

Truly last minute shoppers will be able to visit the corner of happy and healthy this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day where Walgreens said most of its nearly 8,200 stores will be open.

The company, which features “at the corner of happy & healthy” as its advertising tag line, said most stores will be open until midnight on Christmas Eve and its roughly 1,600 24-hour stores would stay open around the clock. On Christmas Day, most of the company’s non-24-hour stores will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

New York -- Beginning on Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 a.m., 37 Macy’s stores in select cities across the country including Macy’s Herald Square in New York City; Union Square in San Francisco; and State Street in Chicago, will stay open overnight for four days in a row of non-stop shopping until Christmas Eve on Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m.

In addition to the 24-hour stores, mostly all stores nationwide, except furniture galleries and select locations, will offer extended hours each night until 2 a.m. through Dec. 23.

Austin, Texas - A majority of consumers (79%) plan to shop the end-of-year sales after the holidays are over. In addition, a new survey from RetailMeNot and The Omnibus Company shows that nearly half of consumers (42%) report that they typically end up returning at least some gifts they receive for the holidays.

Reston, Va. -- U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 45 days of the November-December 2013 holiday season totaled $37.8 billion, according to comScore. For the first time ever, the most recent workweek saw five individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Green Monday with $1.4 billion.

U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 45 days of the November-December 2013 holiday season totaled $37.8 billion, according to comScore. For the first time ever, the most recent workweek saw five individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Green Monday with $1.4 billion.

Hickory Farms has launched a new website featuring faster page load times, easier navigation and improved search and checkout functions. Customers can shop on-the-go with the site's mobile- and tablet-friendly design.

In addition, running through Christmas Eve, customers can participate in Hickory Farms' Holiday Hunt Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of six daily instant prizes and be entered to win a $2,500 Visa gift card. Consumers can visit the Hickory Farms Facebook page daily to find the clue for that day's instant prize, which they will find on HickoryFarms.com.

Sam's Club is offering some extra holiday cheer for shoppers who are looking to buy last-minute gifts and save some money in the process. The company is inviting the public to a three-day Holiday Open House from Friday, Dec. 20 to Sunday, Dec. 22.

The event allows shoppers to take advantage of lowered prices on the season's hot items, like smartphones and notebooks, without paying non-member upcharges.